(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electric connector and more particularly, to an electric connector with solder balls.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, the connection between an electric connector and a circuit board can be done in two ways. One way is to directly solder the pins of the electric connector to the circuit board. The other way is to bond the terminals of the electric connector to the circuit board by means of a solder material. China Patent #2004200 59350.7 discloses an electric connector with solder balls. According to this design, the electric connector comprises a housing and a number of terminals. The housing has a plurality of terminal slots and a plurality of bottom solder ball grooves respectively disposed in communication with the terminal slots. The terminals are respectively mounted in the terminal slots, each having a protruding portion. Further, solder balls are respectively mounted in the bottom solder ball grooves and fixedly connected to the protruding portions of the terminals. According to this design, the bottom solder ball grooves extend in vertical direction, therefore the solder balls may easily be forced away from the bottom solder ball grooves. Although the protruding portions of the terminals are respectively engaged into the solder balls to hold the solder balls in place, however it is difficult to control the solder balls at the same elevation.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide an electric connector that eliminates the aforesaid drawbacks.